In 2014, writer Gaea Schoeters, my über-ex and still travel buddy par excellence, set one specific goal on our Balkan journey: seeing and climbing into Buzludzha. And thus it happened. The images I had found on the internet were mesmerizing enough already, but this place must be experienced, for words and images don’t come near to this fascinating, dilapidated communist monument.

On this journey, I revisited it with friend Paul Webble living nearby, and I will time and again whenever I pass. Riding my electric motorcycle up to its front entrance (welded shut of course) was a bit of a challenge and I’m no brave heart for steep off-road, let alone rutted, hill climbing or descending, but I made it. There she was, Xena ‘my’ truly beloved Zero DS, a tiny dot in front of the concrete UFO.

Witnessing the very sad condition it’s in, I give it another 5-10 years to fall to bits. The roof being perforated, weather has a free play destroying the entire structure below, including its stunning mosaics which are being stolen and vandalized to make matters worse. Truly heartbreaking.

Extract from www.buzludzha.com :State of the monument ‘Ever since the superseding of Bulgarian president Todor Givkovand and the political changes that occurred in Bulgaria from 1989, the state of the monument has been worsening. Portraits of Ludmila and Todor Givkov have been voluntarily destroyed. The copper adornments have been stolen. The building is slowly disintegrating; marauders are consistently breaking windows and stealing mosaics and ornaments. Nowadays, the monument is abandoned and no public institution seems to be concerned by the conservation of renovation of the building. The Bulgarian socialist party itself is not taking any action towards the maintenance of its most important symbol.’